Phoenix - Ryan Braun made major-league history Thursday, the kind that left the National League's most valuable player as well as the Milwaukee Brewers ecstatic, but Major League Baseball officials openly disturbed.

Braun, 28, became the first major-league player to have a positive drug test overturned on appeal when he was informed that a three-man arbitration panel ruled against a 50-game suspension that would have begun on opening day.

Independent arbitrator Shyam Das cast the decisive vote on what became a chain-of-custody issue.

"I am very pleased and relieved by today's decision," Braun said in a statement. "It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side."

The verdict not only removed a tremendous burden from Braun but provided a huge boost for the Brewers, already coping with the loss of slugger Prince Fielder to free agency.

Had Braun also been lost for nearly a third of the season, few baseball people gave the team much of a chance to repeat as National League Central Division champions.

Braun will report to the Brewers' spring training camp on time Friday and will participate in a noon (Milwaukee time) news conference to further discuss what became one of the most convoluted and controversial cases in the short history of the MLB drug program.

Das ruled in Braun's favor because of a chain-of-custody dispute that occurred after his urine sample was taken during an early October drug test.

People familiar with the details said the sample was not dropped off that day at FedEx to be sent to the MLB testing lab in Montreal because the collector thought it was too late and the shipping company was closed.

Instead, the collector kept the sample, and perhaps others, refrigerated at home for two days before making the shipment. Though the seals on the samples were unbroken upon arriving at the lab, that lapse in protocol became the crux of the hearing in which Braun's side contested the validity of the test itself.

The MLB drug policy states that "absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected."

The policy goes on to say, "If the specimen is not immediately prepared for shipment, the collector shall ensure that it is appropriately safeguarded during temporary storage. The collector must keep the chain of custody intact. The collector must store the samples in a cool and secure location."

MLB officials argued that despite the delay in shipping, the collector did keep the chain of custody intact and store the samples in the proper environment. Das thought there was room for error in the process, however, and ruled accordingly.

As is customary in arbitration drug appeals, Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner voted in favor of the player, and Rob Manfred, MLB executive vice president of labor relations, voted to uphold the test result. That left the decisive vote to Das, a longtime independent arbitrator for MLB.

MLB officials were so disappointed with Das' decision that they issued a statement in protest that read in part:

"As a part of our drug testing program, the Commissioner's Office and the Players Association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das."

While MLB officials considered Braun's exoneration to be based strictly on a technicality, the player's side did not see it that way. Because of the delay in shipping, they considered the chain of custody broken and therefore the test itself to be invalid. They argued that Braun's sample could have been tainted by the time lapse and also questioned if the positive test actually was his sample.

The test result showed an unusually high level of synthetic testosterone, though the substance that triggered it has not been revealed. Braun's lawyer, David Cornwell, argued at the hearing that his client never had tested positive in five years in the majors and that the high testosterone level itself was suspicious.

Still, it came down to the delayed shipment and chain of custody, points that will be debated throughout baseball for some time to come while also raising questions about the integrity of the drug-testing program itself.

"I can't really react to how (MLB officials) feel because I don't know the details of the whole process and everything," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, informed of the decision while at his office at Maryvale Baseball Park.

"I can't say I'm not surprised. . . . The role I have with this organization, this ballclub, I'm happy that Ryan Braun's going to be putting on a uniform and getting ready for opening day instead of June.

"We will get back to normal. We have to. You close the book to this. I know it's going to be a story for a number of days; that's expected. But from our standpoint, from (manager) Ron Roenicke's standpoint . . . it'll be a lot more fun to address the entire clubhouse knowing this decision has come down."

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio issued a statement later in the evening, saying, "Since joining our organization in 2005, Ryan Braun has been a model citizen and a person of character and integrity. . . .

"I also want to reiterate my support for Major League Baseball's strict substance testing program. It is unfortunate that the confidentiality of the program was compromised, and we thank our fans and everyone who supported Ryan and did not rush to judgment."

The drug-testing process, which is administered jointly by MLB and the players union, is supposed to be confidential, but word of Braun's positive test leaked to ESPN, which reported it in early December. Braun immediately said he was wronged, sending a text to the Journal Sentinel that said: "This is B.S. I'm completely innocent."

The dates of Braun's arbitration hearing, Jan. 19-20, also leaked out, starting the clock publicly on the decision. The drug policy asks that the panel make every effort to render its verdict within 25 days, but five weeks passed before it came down, a testament to the complexity of the case.

People familiar with the history of the drug program said 12 players previously appealed positive tests without success. By design, MLB would not announce a successful appeal because of the supposed confidentiality of the program.

That left it to the players union to release a statement at 4:10 p.m. CST saying Braun had won his appeal: "Under the Joint Drug Agreement, a player's successful challenge to a suspension normally would not have been made public. The parties have agreed, given the particulars of this case, that an announcement is appropriate."

"We provided complete cooperation throughout, despite the highly unusual circumstances," said Braun. "I have been an open book, willing to share details from every aspect of my life as part of this investigation, because I have nothing to hide. I have passed over 25 drug tests in my career, including at least three in the past year.

"I would like to thank my family and friends, my teammates, the Brewers organization led by Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and Ron Roenicke, and other players around the league who have expressed their support and our great fans in Milwaukee and around the country who stuck by me and did not rush to judgment. …

"This is not just about one person, but about all current and future players, and thankfully, today the process worked."

It will be up to Braun to provide as many additional details as he sees fit in his news conference Friday. But, having won the appeal, he can say as little as he pleases and merely maintain his innocence. It remains to be seen if the source of the leaks will be identified and if they compromise the drug program going forward.

Players previously were unsuccessful in winning drug appeals because the burden of proof rests squarely on them in the hearings. The MLB drug policy has a "strict liability" provision in which players are not exonerated merely because they ingested a banned substance unknowingly.

The agency that represents Braun, CAA Sports, hired Cornwell to present his case before the panel. Cornwell had defended other high-profile athletes in such matters, as well as in other legal entanglements.

Shortly after taking the case, Cornwell issued a statement saying, "Any report that Ryan ingested a performance-enhancing drug is wrong."

Cornwell limited his comments to that, and the Braun camp closely guarded its defense strategy before the hearing. Word leaked, however, that Cornwell would attack the test result on several fronts, which obviously included the chain of custody and collection process.

Had Braun been suspended, there was debate over whether he should forfeit his MVP award. He received 20 of 32 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America after batting .332 with 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 109 runs scored and 33 stolen bases in 150 games. He led the league with a .597 slugging percentage.

"As a general manager, you're pretty excited to know that we have one of the best players in the game, an MVP, back in the lineup," said Melvin. "To end the long wait; we started to get impatient. But we stayed patient with the entire process and let it run its course.

"We've always supported Ryan. We support the drug program, too. We're supportive of both. I don't know anything about it other than my job and responsibility as a general manager is to put the best team on the field, and the decision allows me to do that."